“I have very fond memories of the Ace Hotel in Portland. Yeah, that is some place where I played with my ‘perfect world’ game. And I thought that Portland might get pretty close. Man, there is nothing like a Portland summer. But then I also realised that as soon as you make a place home, you invite entanglements, and Portland seemed like a place that I would want to keep free from that. As long as I don’t make it my home it stays perfection. I can miss it, I can yearn for it, I can fantasise about it and I can visit it and have the best time.”

Oh nothing, just Michelle Williams describing EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. I’m currently leafing through back issues of Hobo magazine and reading an interview Michelle did when Meek’s Cutoff was released. I’ve been meaning to see that film since 2011.

I read a Thought Catalog post (I know, I know) a while back and it talked about the way one new song can sustain you for the better part of a week. ‘I don’t need a flirty text message, a delicious meal, or an amazing night out. I’m pretty much set with my New Favorite Song.’ That has certainly been my experience over the last few days.

I’m still listening to Angus and Julia Stone’s self titled record plus Lana Del Rey’s sophomore, Ultraviolence. FKA twigs (I’m in awe…so intrigued ) joined the line up on Monday and Jason Feathers was Tuesday’s unexpected offering. Pitchfork describesDe Oro as an album from a ‘mystery band’ but my pals at work tell me it’s actually Justin Vernon, his Bon Iver bandmate S. Carey and American MC Astronautalis. At first I found it quite disconcerting and abrasive but subsequent spins revealed moments of intense beauty. For example, the last three minutes of Sacred Math and all of Cyclone. Allow yourself to be drawn in. The album will be released on August 19 – my birthday. Gee thanks, Justin!

Then there was Erlend Oye’s newie Garota which my friend Tom described as a ‘sultry trans-continental ill-fated attraction with a solid groove.’ Ha! It was a well-timed accompaniment to my moody Thursday evening. Watch/hear the bittersweet tale unfold here.

And this afternoon at work I pressed play on a song Amelia recommended that I assumed would be background noise: Murmurs by Hundred Waters. Instead, everything around me fell away and fierce tears stung my eyes. I had it on repeat for hours and was only vaguely aware of anything else. Sometimes a song has the ability to take all of your conflicting emotions and half thoughts and if onlys and wishes and make perfect sense of them. Today, Murmurs was that song.

I wish you…I wish you would see what I see

Were you there? Were you there? Were you ever alive?

I wish I would see what you see

Silly silly silly meI used to…used to seeNow our only lightIs blowing out

Goodness, what a week. Has it taken a toll on you, too? I felt far too many feelings this week. One day it was as if I could drag a finger over my skin and physically trace the delicious bursts of dopamine coursing through my veins and the next I was drained of all motivation, inspiration and wonder. Amelia and I spoke about having the tendency to operate solely on an emotional level (Doesn’t everyone? Apparently not.) and I was reminded of this quote that Meg posted recently:

I was conceived in South Africa but my mum and big brother moved to Australia a few months before my due date. And so I was born here and had a life like this. I’ve often wondered what it would have been like had we stayed in South Africa. My dad is still there but I’ve only met him once. I’m curious. I want to get a glimpse of the adolescence I could have had. I want to meet the people I could have known. I want to understand the things I could have learned. I want to know what life is like for teenage girls in small town South Africa, girls of diverse origins, cultures, languages and religions.

Over the last two years I have photographed 12 girls for my Small Town Girl Project – four in Australia and eight in the United States – and in February and March 2015 my camera and I will head to South Africa to live with/photograph another six girls. I’m looking for 13-19 year olds with diverse cultural and racial backgrounds who live in towns with a population of 20,000 or less. I’ll live with you and your family/friends for a week and follow you around, taking photos of your everyday life. The photos will form a body of work that will be exhibited in art galleries around Australia, the US and South Africa.

If you’re interested in finding out more or if you know someone who might be, please comment here or email me for details: elizestrydom@live.com.au You can see more photos from the project so far here and here and here. Feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and any of your other social networks. Be sure to check out the Small Town Girl project Instagram, too!

Tomorrow I’m flying to my magical happy place: New Zealand. I’m tagging along with one of my best friends, Lyndal, who scored the trip as a thank you from the travel blog she writes for. I’ve been dreaming of getting back there since my first visit more than two years ago. We’re flying into Christchurch then driving down to Queenstown then…exploring, adventuring, day tripping…generally being wide eyed kids in a wonderous winterland, you know. There’s nothing I love more. I’m so very grateful for yet another trip away and the chance to run free with my bestie. What a life, huh? Meanwhile in Gaza, right? It’s strange to spend my work days reading and writing stories about death and destruction, abuse and adversity, power and politics then leaving for the day to go spend time with my friends eating out, skating, taking photos, visiting artisan markets or hanging at the beach. We’ve got it good, real good, and I’m thankful.